When will the reaction against deskilled, dull, and uninspired art catch fire?Kirk Hopper Fine Arts takes a crack at this question with another offering of artists trying to buckthe trend of lazy conceptualism and zombie abstraction. Last time they featured a group ofpainters, but this time, the medium is drawing. In a show titled Slipstream, curated by Susie Kalil,drawings are featured because Kalil values the individual labor, craft, as well as the skills shownin each work. Style isn’t the driver of this show, yet much of these artists work in themes of the surrealor other worldly abstractions. This group show will include ten artists and I would like to introduceyou to a few of them.

Roger Winter has written a book titled On Drawing. His work can be categorized as realism, butnot the idealized, sentimental realism, rather a more gritty and stark representation of life. MaryJenewien is ambitious in scale and content with her very personal works. Drawing is just anelement of her breadth of work. I don’t know what to expect for Jenewien, but I am sure it willalso tap into realism while remaining dark and soulful. In fact, dark themes can be found inseveral other artists works in the show. Robert Crumb’s comics have been a clear influence onBill Haveron’s drawings. Strange narratives seem to twist and turn in his work. Lynn Randolphand Noriko Shinohara also tell surreal stories in their work. Shinohara also employees cartoonstyle techniques using “less is more” to make an image.

Lynn Randolph. Master Builder, 2015.Graphite on paper

James Surls. Her Universe Apart, 2014. Graphite on paper.

James Surls and Jorge Alegria have a very different style and approach to drawing than many

Kirk Hopper Fine Arts will have an opening reception May 28th. The ten artists include: Jorge